


Pride

by Yoselin



Series: Seven Deadly Sins (Arcana) [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 16:46:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13708548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoselin/pseuds/Yoselin
Summary: In which Dahlia and Lucio play a game of egos.Part 2 of the Seven Deadly Sins series.





	Pride

Her pride was wounded for the night. Moving down the hallways with her fists clenched at her sides, Dahlia silently shrieked in her head. She could still feel the mocking stares and smug smirks burning through her.  
Her night had been a disaster and the entire court had been around to witness it. Everyone who had ever gossiped about her behind her back had seen Lucio choose someone else. They had seen what they thought was the beginning of the end for her.  
Leaning against a wall, she rubbed her fists at her forehead angrily.  
Perhaps tonight was the beginning of the end for her. Perhaps the court was right.  
Tonight, during a ball, Lucio had asked someone else to dance. A dashing young woman who had blushed and giggled at his attention. They had danced quite a bit before he had offered her a seat next to him. While this Dahlia could handle, as she often danced with others in front of Lucio, she couldn’t handle the mortifying conclusion of the night.  
Like every other night, Dahlia had left her gaggle of admirers as the musicians had been packing away their instruments to head back to Lucio’s room. She had no sooner taken a few steps when Lucio had reached out and caught the arm of the young girl that had taken his attention. With a sly smile and a few whispers brushed past her ear, the girl had giggled and followed him out of the ballroom.  
Dahlia had been left behind in the dust still shocked at the fact that the Count had discarded her so easily.  
She didn’t care that Lucio had sought another bedmate, he did that quite often when Dahlia wore the boundaries of his patience thin and angered him, plus there was no love between them, but the embarrassment that he had done so in public was eating at her pride.  
Everyone had seen the events of the night. Every noble, every council member, everyone who mattered had witnessed her lose her standing as Lucio’s favorite.  
The mortification threatened to destroy her.  
Growling into her fist, Dahlia forced herself to relax. Her heart was thumping into her chest and she pressed a hand to it. The pounding rhythm gave her some peace of mind. Closing her eyes, she tried to steady it.  
After a few deep breaths, she managed it.  
Kicking off the wall, she moved her head to the side and smoothed down her skirts.  
_Think, think,_ she forced herself.  
Lucio had humiliated her tonight, on purpose by the smug smirk he had thrown her way as he had escorted his latest conquest to his bed, so what could she do in turn?  
_Think, think,_ she repeated it in her head.  
What did Lucio care for?  
Nadia? Not even close. The two spouses could hardly look at each other during breakfast.  
His estate? No, he had more.  
Himself? Well, yes, but what could she do now? She wasn’t angry enough to kill him.  
His pride?-  
Oh he definitely cared for that.  
Dahlia presses her finger to her chin in thought, mind brewing with a plan.  
Lucio cared an awful lot about his reputation, and a part of that was about how others viewed him and his charm. Part of the reason why Lucio welcomed pretty new faces in his bed was because he wanted the gossip. Hearing the court whisper and murmur about his lovers stroked his ego. With every heart he broke, his own heart swelled.  
Tonight he had attempted to do it again with Dahlia. He had wanted to destroy her and demean her before everyone. Lucio was well aware that Dahlia had no reputation besides the fact that she was his, and because of this fact, so he had wanted to brag to her. He had waved her social standing in front of her to threaten and scare her. His message had been simple:  
_Lookie, lookie, I can easily discard you and you’ll be nothing without me._  
Dahlia bristled in irritation.  
If Lucio thought he had won a battle tonight, he was wrong. Despite his best attempts, she would not wave a white flag.  
So, stealing herself and keeping her chin up, she whirled around on her heels. Her skirts swished around her as she walked and her face plastered on another confident and arrogant smirk.  
Reentering the ballroom, she was the center of attention once more. The music had already ended, few guests remained, and Dahlia sidestepped Nadia from her place next to a few councilmen.  
Her eyes scanned the small amount of party goers still milling about, and she locked on a target. Doctor Julian Devorak, looking a little off-put by the way Asra was seemingly rejecting his efforts, was the perfect prey.  
Dahlia was more than aware that the doctor held some regard for her. The way he danced with her in many occasions, flirted during his visits, and flushed with pleasure at her light teases evidenced his affections enough.  
Thus, walking up to him, she made sure to put on her charm. Smoothing her face into a bashful smile, Dahlia reminded herself not to look too desperate. If people saw her pining after Julian, they would know her little game and her ego would take an even worse blow.  
No, she had to make this convincing. She had to make herself look totally nonchalant as she went through this ordeal.  
Her fingers grasped Julian’s arm lightly and she leaned on her toes to meet his eyes. He jolted with surprise at seeing her, reddened at the realization that she was so close, and greeted her with a flourish. To his side, Asra gave Dahlia a long look-apparently not fooled by her display-yet murmured a ‘goodbye’ and made his exit.  
Now alone with Devorak, her plan could come to fruition. If Lucio could have his fun, why couldn’t she?  
Being seen with Julian was a major advantage. If she flirted with him enough, maybe those that hated her would see there was more to her than being Lucio’s pet. Maybe Julian would fall for her, propose, and change her standing among court. Turn her from the Count’s whore to the doctor’s wife.  
Making her voice airy, seductive, and charming, she got to work.  
It was so easy to fool Julian. The poor man was starved for affection, Asra gave him nothing but cold rebuttals, and he was willing to fall for Dahlia. It also helped that he found her attractive-what man didn’t?-and couldn’t see fault with spending the night with her.  
Thus, with minimal effort on her part, he was putty in her hands. She had only to giggle and grasp his hand in hers before he was breathlessly offering to walk her back to her room, ‘just to ensure she made it back alright’, and she was more than happy to accept.  
Humming and making herself seem innocent, bashful, she made color bloom across her cheeks. Her ability to blush on command did wonders for Julian. He flushed himself and a shudder of desire passed through his body. Dahlia smirked before composing her face into something more innocent.  
As she led Julian past the small crowd of onlookers, she raised her chin. Even if Lucio had intended to damage her tonight, he would not succeed. Dahlia was resilient, strong, and it would take more than that to end her.  
As she made her way past Nadia, the Countess gave her a quirked eyebrow neither approving nor disapproving.  
Dahlia was reminded of the question the Countess had directed at her once, way back when Lucio had done this sort of thing for the first time.  
_‘Is that the game you two play? You sleep with each other one night then make each other jealous the next? Is it a game of jealousy for you?’_  
Shaking her head and giving Julian’s hand another tug, Dahlia grinned.  
Nadia was wrong, as she often was, the game between her and Lucio was not jealousy-  
It was a game of egos.  
The two played a game of chess back and forth. They harmed each other and tore at each other’s reputations for fun.  
Tonight, Lucio had mortified her in front of all of his guests, but tomorrow she’d have her revenge.  
Tomorrow, the sun would rise and Lucio’s entertainment with his current bed mate would fade, and he would hear of her. One of his attendants would whisper it in his ear as he dressed with total shame and disgust. Lucio would become enraged, storm downstairs towards her room-  
And Dahlia would make sure Julian would leave around that time too. That way, the doctor would meet him halfway to prove what next morning’s gossip already implied.  
Then, Dahlia wouldn’t be known as just the count’s discarded whore, she’d also be the woman who the esteemed Doctor Devorak had also taken a liking to. She’d become even more notorious and admired-  
And Lucio would be the one to suffer a blow to his pride.


End file.
